School Shootings and The Concept of a Vulnerable Population

A handful of massacres in schools have been occurring over the past decades leading to the definition of school shootings. In Boston, the shootings lead to the death of the educators and the students. Death tolls are repeated in the different places in the state of Massachusetts. Mass shootings continue to be a crisis that affects the American society. The collateral damage caused involves children and faculty who are shaken by gunfire. Mass shootings represent a fraction of gun violence that leaves the students and faculty dead or bleeding. The massacres spread fear within the Boston universities and colleges, which changes the manner in which children grow, as well as the culture of education. The threats lead to lockdowns in classrooms as the students are forced to create alarms. Active-shooter drills are created by many schools enabling the faculty and students can hide in bathrooms and darkened closets. Going to school no longer makes students and the faculty safe. Even people who come from upper-middle and middle-class communities face trauma. Based on the topic of mass shootings, I have learned that plans to stop shooters should be established with the appropriate changes addressing the traumatic activities being published as a way of responding to tragedy and violence.

Summary of What I Have Gleaned

The mass shootings occurring within the schools in Boston have taught me that students and the faculty are among the vulnerable populations when such incidents arise. Nursing students need to be aware of the plans to bring a gun in school and communicate to the faculty in the most appropriate way. The law enforcement officers should also be notified to ensure that the plans are stopped before they cause death or injury among them. If schools had policies regarding the welfare of the students and the faculty, it would be easier to curb mass shootings. Such policies need to allow physical intervention as some shooters display their attempts on the social media platforms.

Mass shootings are real and they affect a wider population. Therefore, it is important for the nurses to ensure that there is a suitable learning network that provides resources on how to understand the implications of the shootings. Teachers and parents should look for information concerning safety in schools to ensure that they respond to the plans of tragedy and violence in time.

Nursing students have an in-depth understanding of the social determinants of health in schools. Some of these include unsafe housing, poverty, and lack of understanding, among others. As a result, they should look for ways of providing health services and resources with the intent of providing student advocacy. Besides, student nurses need to acknowledge the existence of shooters in schools and identify the factors that cause the risk for violence.

Changes in My Local Area

In my local community, policy changes related to gun laws have reduced the impact of mass shootings. It has been notable that the issues fall and rise depending on the policy agendas concerning the possession of guns. The events leading to the mass shootings have called for more awareness about violence. This has also led to additional restrictions on guns resulting in receptive change. As a result, the mass shootings in my area have led to the creation of policy windows where change is bound to happen. The shifts in the attention of the constituents and the media have resulted in empirical questions regarding the extent to which the mass shootings affect nature and policy.

Mass shootings are plausible and salient random occurrences that have led to the implementation of strategies to limit their impact. In other words, gun laws are compared before and after the shootings leading to enhanced regulation of firearms. The laws are also compared in other states to enhance accountability, public attention, law, and policy-making. Therefore, several changes relating to gun laws have been evident as they address factors beyond opportunism, ideology, and fiscal considerations. The laws also cause intensive legislative activity leading to the reduction of firearm deaths.

Thoughts about Being Vulnerable

I think that mass shootings directed to schools affect a wider population and the people who happen to be within the specific environment during the time of the incidents are affected. Schools accommodate the teaching and non-teaching stuff, as well as the students. All these persons are labeled vulnerable to the shootings. Besides, the students and the faculty are vulnerable to the mass shootings because the majority of students engage in harmful behaviors that lead to the attempts of using firearms. For instance, health challenges including HIV/AIDS, poverty, and the use of substance abuse leads the students to use guns. Outsider groups are also likely to pay students to commit such shootings leading to the lose of life.

Policy Change and Safety

I think that policy change is the way to keep people safe because it comes with new laws and restrictions that hinder people from using firearms. The comparison with other states, that is achieved after the incidents also leads to policy change. The strict gun laws are made when changes in the existing policies occur, leading to the safety of the students and the faculty. Policy change leads to safety because the students are made aware of the risks involved when the law requires them to be educated about the possession of guns. Therefore, changes in the existing policies lead to enhanced safety among the students and the faculty, leading to the reduction in the timing and occurrence of the shootings.

The Role of APN in the Community

Active shooters are available in the many parts of the communities. As an APN, I will ensure that I address the notion of active shooters by providing knowledge about the risks involved in the behavior. Mass shootings occur everywhere in the community, including concerts, churches, shopping malls, nightclubs, and schools. Therefore, I will ensure that I provide safety education about the existence of shooters to ensure that more lives are saved when such incidents arise. APNs are compassionate and thus, teaching the public to be compassionate to other people is a significant aspect of preventing calamities. Again, I will ensure that I visit the emergency regions within my community to help in saving the lives of the injured persons. I will also provide mass education to the different areas where people gather in masses to ensure that the behaviors of the shooters are identified. I will also be involved in a team of medical and health response to ensure that casualties are managed within the shortest time.

Overall, awareness of mass shootings is important as it ensures the public to cooperate with the law enforcement officers to help prevent disasters. Policy changes lead to the safety of the communities when gun laws are amended. The APN is expected to provide emergency response or education to the public. As a result, the common issues and problems are addressed to enable the public to identify shooters within their community.

References

1. DalPezzo, N. K., & Jett, K. T. (2010). Nursing faculty: A vulnerable population. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(3), 132-136.
2. Gonzalez-Guarda, R. M., Dowdell, E. B., Marino, M. A., Anderson, J. C., & Laughon, K. (2018). American Academy of Nursing on policy: Recommendations in response to mass shootings. Nursing outlook, 66(3), 333-336.